Dienstag, 22. Januar 2008

Updates

Zuerst ein kleiner Warnhinweis. In der heutigen Tagesschau-Webseite, und auch im deutschen Radio läuft seit heute um 05:30 ein Text von Clemens Verenkotte an, der einen schweren Fehler aufweist. John Dugard, der UN-Sonderberichterstatter für die palästinensischen Gebiete, wurde in dem Schreiben mit den Worten zitiert, die Tötung von mehr als 40 Zivilisten in der vergangenen Woche verstoße gegen das Verbot der kollektiven Bestrafung gemäß der Genfer Konvention. Es wurde bei dem Vorfall den Dugard bewertet nur eine Person getötet, jedoch über 40 verletzt: A U.N. official in Geneva on Saturday condemned Israel's actions, particularly the bombing Friday of an empty Hamas Interior Ministry building in a Gaza City neighborhood. Shrapnel from the missile strike killed a woman and wounded as many as 46 people, some of them children, who were celebrating at a wedding party next door. The official, John Dugard, who works on human rights in the Palestinian territories, said the Israelis who were responsible "for such cowardly action" resulting in civilian casualties "are guilty of serious war crimes and should be prosecuted and punished for their crimes." He said the attack on the building "near a wedding party venue" was carried out "with what must have been foreseen loss of life and injury to many civilians." Ich habs der Tagesschau-Redaktion geschrieben, aber möglicherweise reagiert diese nicht.

Israel to lift ban for one day: Vowing not to allow a humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip, but blaming Hamas for the current situation, Israel agreed Monday to allow some fuel and medicine shipments into the besieged territory. The decision followed growing international pressure at what was described as an imminent humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, after Israel stepped up the embargo on the Hamas-controlled territory following massive rocket barrages in recent days, which targeted Israeli communities bordering the Strip. + Gaza Strip residents Monday moved from worrying about the electricity cuts of the previous 40 hours to worrying about a water shortage. The municipality needs electricity to bring water to homes and the houses need it to pump water to the roof tanks. Hence 40 percent of Gaza Strip homes - 600,000 people - had no running water Monday, the Palestinian water authority said. +++ Israel must increase pressure on the Gaza Strip to stop rocket attacks, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Monday, hours after he approved a one-time easing of a blockade that led to a blackout in Gaza City. Addressing the annual Herzliya Conference on security, Barak gave a hardline speech, saying Israel would continue to hit Gaza in order to bring calm to battered southern Israel towns that have been targeted by rockets fired by militants.

IDF reservists on Monday stepped up the pressure on Prime Minister Ehuld Olmert ahead of the publication of the Winograd report with the publication of a letter demanding his resignation signed by 50 company commanders. "Senior military commanders paid the price for their failures and were forced to resign, while you, who are at the top of the system, refuse to accept standards of personal responsibility," read the letter, which was shown on Channel 2 news. "Anyone who is not committed to personal responsibility cannot send people to war, and this is true of a prime minister as it is of every company commander."

The successful launch on Monday of an advanced Israeli satellite was delayed in recent months by Iranian sabotage, The Jerusalem Post has learned from Western sources. Its deployment will dramatically increase Israel's intelligence-gathering capabilities regarding the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, since the satellite can transmit images in all weather conditions, a capability that Israel's existing satellites lacked. According to assessments recently received, Iran learned of the TecSar's planned deployment from the media and has since applied heavy pressure through Indian opposition parties - particularly the Muslim and Communist political factions - to prevent the launch. ++++ Top German officials, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have recently criticized Austria's commercial ties with Iran and its opposition to tighter sanctions on the Islamic republic, according to a source with ties to the Berlin government. These criticisms, made at several high-level meetings, are the first sign of a rift between fellow European Union members Austria and Germany over trade with Iran. In one closed-door meeting last autumn, according to the source, Merkel said that Austria set a dangerous precedent when its state-owned energy and gas company OMV negotiated a 22 billion euro agreement to develop Iranian gas and oil fields. ++++ [Vielleicht etwas sehr optimistisch]: The UN Security Council's five permanent members and Germany are expected to agree Tuesday on a new draft resolution to pressure Iran over its nuclear program, a French diplomat said. The senior diplomat, who briefed reporters Monday on condition that he not be identified by name, said an agreement was very close and should be finalized by the six nations' foreign ministers at a meeting Tuesday in Berlin. He would not give details on the resolution, but said it would be "very balanced, very firm" and likely be presented to the UN Security Council for debate by the end of the month. "We are really very close," he said.

"No peace without Damascus", Marek Halter: Peace in the Middle East will only happen with the involvement of Damascus. I realize that saying this will surprise some and probably offend others. I have been convinced of this since my first visit to Syria under the regime of Bashar Assad. My visit itself was criticized by several French politicians. Isn't Syria, after all, part of what President George W. Bush calls the "axis of evil"? It seems obvious that peace can only be reached through negotiating with one's enemies. Unfortunately, this common-sense statement is not shared by all. It is mostly a matter of knowing when to start the discussions. The issue is political rather than moral. I believe Syria is now ready for peace.Foreignpolicy.com: What America Must Do January/February 2008... America’s relationship with the world is in disrepair. Anger, resentment, and fear have replaced the respect the United States once enjoyed. So, we asked a group of the world’s leading thinkers to answer one question: What single policy or gesture can the next president of the United States make to improve America’s standing in the world?